don't stop me, i beg you
by dreamin.paradise
Summary: He enters her life in reds and yellows, and leaves in blacks and whites. DamonElena.


_This is a one-shot that I came up with after watching the season 2 premiere, but I don't think it actually holds many spoilers. But there's one from the Isobel episode :) _  
_My first attempt at the Vampire Diaries :)_

_Hope it doesn't suck too bad. Oh, and feedback will be greatly appreciated! ^^_

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**don't stop me, i beg you**

_He enters her life in reds and yellows, and leaves in blacks and whites. DamonElena._

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Damon enters her perfectly organized life in reds and yellows and greens and she hates him the very first time she sees him. He's annoying and cocky and he has the ability to get on her very last nerve, something that she's sure Stefan won't do.

He plays with Caroline and feeds from her and when Elena finds out she's sure she's never hated anyone so much in her entire seventeen years of living. Stefan knows, and he tries to keep her as far away from his brother as possible. But he also knows that it's Damon and he won't leave without a fight.

Over the course of the three months following the brothers' return, things start to change. Stefan's the first to notice how casual the conversations between Elena and Damon become, and as much as he hates to admit it, he's jealous of the normalcy that he knows his relationship with Elena will never have.

Because Katherine's left a scar, and he's not sure if he can entirely forget something that's almost become a part of him.

;;

_"Because he's in love with you."_

Isobel's words change everything for the three of them.

Stefan flinches because _this_ is exactly what he feared: history repeating itself in vivid colors and twisted patterns and a complicated, confusing ending that he cannot even see the glimpse of from so far away. He can't lose her, can't lose something that reminds him of the life that he wants so desperately to be a part of again, can't lose the rainbow colors in the dark life that he leads.

He can't lose her because he doesn't think he'll be able to bear the pain once more.

Damon's face turns rigid because he doesn't know why he can't deny Isobel's statement. There's truth in her words that anger him because he's not meant for so much emotion, so much hurt. He's scared because he doesn't want to let go of Katherine, but he knows that Elena's already gotten him too close to forgetting about the former reason for his existence.

He's scared that falling again will make him the old Damon that he's tried so hard to run away from.

Elena wants to scream. She wants to cry and break and pull her hair out. Because this is the same thing she's been trying to avoid ever since she found out about their lives. She doesn't want to be the same person, doesn't want to break hearts that she's grown to care about. She doesn't want to make a choice because choosing is Elena's weakest point.

She looks at Damon and her heart breaks because he knows she loves Stefan and he really, really doesn't deserve _this_.

;;

They don't talk anymore.

In fact, she hasn't seen him since everything happened. So, on one Sunday morning, when she's standing outside the boarding house, her heart's beating faster every second because it's been two weeks and she really doesn't want to see Damon. He knows what she's thinking, she guesses, because just when she enters he's walking towards his room and successfully ignoring her and she can't even stop her words rushing out of her when he doesn't look at her even once.

"Was she right?"

He turns, and she's half-expecting that smirk that she hasn't seen for what seems like ages, but he's not smiling although there's still that little glint in his blue_blue_blue eyes that remind her of the sky and the seas and –

"I don't know." _I hope she isn't_ dies on his tongue.

He doesn't say anything more. Doesn't stay longer, instead he uses his vampire speed and is gone in less than a second and she's left wondering how the hell everything went wrong.

;;

Katherine comes back annoyed and fueled with revenge and anger because it's not fair that anyone else gets the two boys that _almost_ made her regret leaving. She looks at them like they're objects of her possession and Elena knows, she knows but she can't do anything about it.

The older vampire walks in on Elena when she's going through the kitchen, immediately assuming that she spent the night with Stefan. Anger boils through her like a curse and she's choking Elena against the wall before she knows it.

Elena sputters, desperately trying to breathe, and Katherine doesn't stop the malicious grin from taking over her features.

"Don't struggle, Elena. We all know who the winner here is."

Her voice is sickeningly sweet and Elena's eyes are clouded with fear and Katherine feels this rush of excitement, of power within her and she almost wants to close her eyes and laugh.

"_Leave_ her."

The voice is sure, commanding, and Katherine almost doesn't believe it's the same Damon Salvatore who loved her with every core of his being, but she lets go nonetheless.

"Damon Salvatore," she addresses, staring at him. Elena tries to breathe as she runs over to Damon and hides herself behind him.

"Katherine Pierce," his eyes cloud with disgust when he looks at her, and he doesn't even know why there's a part of him that still cares for her. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, you know, came up to check on Stefan," she says casually, carefully eying his reaction, which is nothing but a blink. "After all, he's the _only_ reason I came back."

He knows she's trying to hurt him, but all he feels is regret and anger and he comes closer to her, cups her cheek in his hands, staring into her eyes. She doesn't stop him when he softly presses his lips to her. Instead, she responds, because although she'll never admit it, she loves the way he loves her.

He breaks away from her, inching back just a little bit to look at her, and whispers. "Frankly, Katherine dear, _I don't give a damn_."

She just stares when he leaves out the door, arms wrapped around Elena.

;;

"Thank you, Damon," Elena manages once they get out, still too stunned by recent events.

He doesn't reply, instead he just nods and leads her into the front seat of his car, and she smiles gratefully and tries not to notice the hurt within her when he doesn't smile back.

"Can I say something?" She asks formally, turning to face him as he seats himself.

"It's never stopped you before," he remarks, and she takes it as a yes.

"She doesn't deserve someone like you, Damon. She doesn't deserve someone who cares, doesn't deserve someone who'll always be there for her in her darkest times. You're too good for her, Damon."

He thinks about her words for a second, silently contemplating whatever she said, and then he looks at her with an empty smile and hollow eyes.

"But I'm no Stefan, Elena. And you're honestly not the right person to say this, because it has _always been Stefan_ for you too."

His voice falters, an as she tries not to notice how he looks betrayed and hurt and more distraught than she's ever seen him, she hates herself for breaking him worse than Katherine ever did.

;;

She comes to the boarding house the next day to meet Stefan, but she doesn't really make it inside once she notices Damon carrying bags out the front door.

She figures he's going to Atlanta or someplace for a couple of days where he can escape Katherine and her conniving, bitchy ways and maybe forget about Mystic Falls and love and how much he hates his brother.

"Elena," he states, and she eyes him curiously.

"Where are you going?" She asks, pointing to the bags.

"I don't know yet," he smirks, and she tries not to notice how much she's missed his smiles and smirks and everything about him that just disappeared.

"When are you coming back?"

His jaw tightens, and she tries to ignore the fact that his structure is stiffer. "I'm not."

"What do you mean you're not?" She wills her voice to not break and tries to blink back the blurriness in her eye.

"I'm leaving, for good."

She wants to protest, wants to stop him but the tears are falling uncontrollably and she reaches her arm out to stop me but she flinches away at her touch.

"_Don't stop me, Elena. I beg you."_

She knows if she stops him, he'll stay, because Damon has never really been able to deny her, so she softly rests her hang on his cheek, and as he leans into her touch, he wants to cry.

"Goodbye, Elena."

She stands on her tiptoes, pressing her lips to his, knowing what this small gesture will mean to him, and when she pulls back after a couple of seconds, she tries not to notice the empty feeling inside of her.

She runs away crying.

;;

Days pass in a blur and she's still with Stefan and she wonders if this is what one would call the ideal summer. She's with the most perfect guy in the entire Mystic Falls (or that's what the majority of girls think) and he's a gentleman, he's sweet and he agrees to dance with her even though he hates it. He loves her like she's always loved glitter and he holds her like she's the most delicate thing he's ever seen.

Some days she can imagine them married; Rose gardens, picket fences, one of those big, beautiful houses that she used to draw when she was a child. And they'll have a dog and they'll name him Drew because frankly, she's always loved that name. The clouds above their house will always be fluffy and they'll lead what is the definition of a life filled with happiness and love.

But there is a part of her that's missing; a part that left her when the older Salvatore did.

;;

It takes seven months for Damon to come back again.

He walks in the boarding house, a couple of bags in his hands, and expects Stefan to be sitting in front of the fire, he makes his way inside and drops the bags on the floor, eyes locked at the back of the chair.

"Damon?" A fragile voice asks before he can speak, and he almost doesn't believe it's her until she stands from the chair and turns towards him.

He nods, and she runs up to him with flying hair and broken eyes and pulls him in an embrace he's missed every second of his seven months away from her. Tears are falling from her eyes and he doesn't know why but he knows she's elated to see him, and he smiles – a real smile this time – because he's honestly missed this.

"Elena, dear," he whispers, stroking her hair with gentle fingers. "How've you been?"

She pulls away from him, eyes red and he can't believe she hasn't changed one bit. She looks at him with a tiny smile on her face and _ohgod_ - she's beautiful.

She doesn't say anything; instead she reaches up to press her forehead to his. "Don't ever leave _me_ again, Damon. I beg you."

He nods, and his eyes crinkle as his face breaks into a smile, and she grins despite the ever-flowing tears as she presses her lips to his softly.

He wants to ask so many questions, about where Stefan is, about how these seven months without him were, about anything and everything, but with her lips pressed against his, and her face crystal clear behind his closed eyes, he thinks maybe this is enough.

Maybe this is enough.

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_i think i might have inhaled you,  
i can feel you behind my eyes._

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_So, that was it :) _

**Review? Thank you.**


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